Did you buy e-books since 2017? Hagens Berman filed a class action lawsuit against Amazon accusing it of establishing an illegal monopoly of the e-books market and charging artificially inflated prices. Contact us »
Hagens Berman filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that Amazon.com entered into contracts with the “Big Five,” five of the nation’s largest publishers, including Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group Inc. and Simon & Schuster Inc., to illegally raise prices of electronic books, also known as e-books, allegedly forcing consumers to pay higher prices.
ABOUT THE PRICE-FIXING ALLEGATIONS
According to the lawsuit, in 2015 Amazon entered into these agreements, which allegedly allowed it to increase its profits and retain its market share while e-book prices increased by up to 30%.
As a result of this alleged misconduct, the plaintiffs all share a similar experience: When they shopped around for better prices on a given e-book title, they instead found uniform, anticompetitive pricing across the internet.
The lawsuit against Amazon states that the e-book retailer violated antitrust and consumer-protection laws by pushing fraudulent price increases onto consumers and raised the price of e-books on Amazon.
YOUR CONSUMER RIGHTS
The lawsuit calls for monetary reimbursement for consumers who purchased e-books through e- Amazon, and also seeks injunctive relief that would require Amazon to stop enforcing the alleged anticompetitive price restraints. Hagens Berman believes that those who may have unknowingly paid high prices for Big Five e-books sold by Amazon deserve compensation.
TOP CONSUMER RIGHTS FIRM
Hagens Berman is one of the most successful consumer litigation law firms in the U.S. and has achieved settlements valued at more than $345 billion for clients and class members in lawsuits against manufacturers, food corporations, automakers, big banks and others. Hagens Berman has achieved record-breaking settlements in antitrust cases, and your claim will be handled by attorneys experienced in consumer antitrust law. The firm also won a prior class-action lawsuit regarding artificially high prices for e-books, winning $568 million for purchasers in a case that went before the Supreme Court.
NO COST TO YOU
In no case will any class member ever be asked to pay any out-of-pocket sum. In the event Hagens Berman or any other firm obtains a settlement that provides benefits to class members, the court will decide a reasonable fee to be awarded to the class' legal team.
CASE TIMELINE
On March 17, 2025, U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods of the Southern District of New York denied Amazon’s motion for reconsideration and leave to file an interlocutory appeal. Amazon’s motion for a stay in discovery was also denied, meaning all the plaintiffs’ monopoly antitrust claims will continue in the court, and attorneys can move forward with the discovery process.
A federal judge granted in part and denied in part Amazon’s motion to dismiss claims that it illegally monopolized the market for e-books. Judge Gregory H. Woods fully adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation to allow monopoly claims against Amazon to proceed and dismiss antitrust conspiracy claims.
“Amazon attempts to distinguish itself by arguing that it has no control over its eBook prices,” the order states. “In any case, Amazon cannot disclaim any control over eBook pricing.” The order also states that the complaint “adequately alleges that the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs suffered an injury from higher-than-competitive prices on trade eBooks sold by Amazon.”
